Ron Abram

B.F.A., University of Central Florida; M.F.A., Tyler School of Art of Temple University

Biography:

Professor Abram joined the faculty in 1995. He earned his MFA from Tyler School of Art of Temple University and received his BFA from the University of Central Florida. His recent work combines the traditional mediums of drawing and printmaking with other forms of artistic endeavor. As an artist and curator, he addresses the relationship of popular culture, community and personal expression in many of these ventures. He has exhibited his work in numerous solo/group exhibitions, here and abroad.

The Academic Support & Enrichment Center's mission is to enrich and enhance the educational experience of all Denison students and to support faculty-student interaction. The Center regularly offers programs and services designed to help students improve their overall academic performance and ultimately assist students in achieving excellence.

The Administrative Services division works hard to provide responsive and quality customer service to the students, faculty and staff of the University—whether sourcing a supplier and securing the best price, delivering the mail, cooking and serving meals, planning a conference or event on campus, selling books or supplies, designing and printing a brochure, reviewing a contract, providing rental information, or arranging for vehicles to provide transportation.

A Denison University education is not just for a living, but for a life. Our purpose is to inspire and educate our students to become autonomous thinkers, discerning moral agents and active citizens of a democratic society. Through an emphasis on active learning, we engage students in the liberal arts. Denison graduates are educated to be curious, resourceful, and reflective. They are well prepared for the rapidly changing world of the 21st century.

The Academic Support & Enrichment Center’s goal is to enhance the educational experience of all Denison students and to support faculty-student interaction. The Center regularly offers programs and services designed to help students improve their overall academic performance and ultimately assist students in achieving excellence.

Olivia Aguilar

I received my PhD in Natural Resources at Cornell University in 2009 studying environmental and science education. I obtained my BS and MS in Horticulture from Texas A&M where I studied the effects of a Junior Master Gardener Program on the environmental attitudes of children.

"If the misery of the poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sin" - Charles Darwin

Courses:

ENVS 101: People and the Environment

ENVS 102: Science and the Environment

ENVS 301: Junior Practicum

ENVS 280: Approaches to Environmental Education

FYS 102: Science and the Community

Research Overview:

My research interests include environmental education and education for sustainable development (particularly with under-represented groups), environmental attitudes and behavior, environmental justice, multi-cultural education, theories of learning, and science education reform.

Assistant Professor Hanada Al-Masri joined the department in 2012 and teaches Arabic. She earned her B.A. and M.A. from the University of Jordan, Jordan and her Ph.D. degree from Purdue University, Indiana.

I have taught courses on transnational sexualities, Asian American women, Asian American history, women of color politics in response to 9/11, and women in the arts. At Denison, I teach the introductory class “Issues in Feminism” and a class called “Gender and Sexuality in American Orientalism” (Spring 2014). I currently serve as a board member of the Arab American arts organization, Mizna. In my free time I enjoy gardening, cooking, and creative writing. I am originally from Louisville, Kentucky.

Research Keywords:

race, class, gender, and sexuality; Arab American studies; Asian American studies; U.S. empire and U.S. settler colonialism; interdisciplinary historical methods

Research Overview:

My current research traces the anxieties surrounding Arab American migrant peddlers and their economic networks at the turn of the twentieth century and argues that this profession, which employed large number of men and women, constituted Arab immigrants as racial and sexual "others." My research shows that the transience of male Syrian peddlers and the gender and sexual transgressions of female Syrian peddlers posed a threat to claims of Syrian whiteness. Using theoretical frameworks from women of color feminist theory, post-colonial history, queer theory, and cultural studies, I read for both the presences and absences of the Syrian peddler in archives of popular culture, social welfare, and the early Arab American community. I am also beginning a project that puts Arab American studies in conversation with studies of U.S. settler colonialism. Thus far, I am examining how Syrian migrant peddlers in the late 19th century were facilitators of settler colonialism in newly-acquired Native lands.

The Office of Alumni Relations makes connections within the Denison family—alumni, parents, friends, students and faculty/staff—all of you are important to us. Our goals are to connect Denisonians with each other and to strengthen your relationship with the College. We accomplish these goals through programs and events involving your classmates, friends and peers. Your connection to Denison does not end upon leaving the Hill. In many ways, it's just beginning.

When I reflect on what I enjoy most about teaching my answer comes immediately: I am in the business of thinking. I view teaching as a multidirectional learning process especially successful at the liberal arts college, where we connect all fields of knowledge to establish intellectual foundations for life-long learning. Teaching at Denison University has given me a renewed desire to learn as I feel inspired by my colleagues’ examples and the students’ demands for excellence.

There are three goals that animate my teaching: I put students at the center of the learning process, I help them develop their self-awareness and intrinsic motivation (which I think are indispensable for life-long learning), and I provide collaborative learning environments as I see them critical to educating responsible citizens. Specific themes that I incorporate into my classes are:

Gender identity. Representation and power of religious groups. Ethnic/race identification.

Service learning pedagogy.

Courses:

My teaching at Denison University is enhanced by my specialization in contemporary literatures and cultures of Spain. These are some topics I examine in my research, and that we analyze in most of my classes:

Belinda Andrews-Smith

B.M., Bowling Green State University; M.A., D.M.A., Ohio State University

Biography:

Dr. Belinda Andrews-Smith is the Coordinator of Vocal Studies and the director of Singer's Theatre Workshop for the Denison Music Department.

An accomplished classical singer, Dr. Smith has been a featured soloist in numerous performances of oratorios and operas including her favorites; The Queen of the Night (The Magic Flute), with OSU and OU opera theatre and The Queen of the Fairies (Iolanthe) with Opera Columbus.

Dr. Smith's research interests are intermingled with voice science and healthy vocal production in all singing styles. She is trained in both commercial and classical singing techniques including belt technique. Her musical theatre students have won awards for their singing every year for over ten years at the state level NATS competitions and former students are performing on and off Broadway, in regional theaters, and in National Broadway tours.

The ensemble Dr. Smith created at Denison, Singer's Theatre Workshop, has become an extension of her unique vocal pedagogy and classical training. This popular course takes the voice studio to the stage. Singer's Theatre Workshop has presented more than 30 musicals and operettas during Dr. Smith's directing career at Denison and her productions have become "standing room only" events on campus.

Each year, tuition covers only about two-thirds of the actual cost of educating a Denison student. The Annual Fund bridges the gap between tuition and other income and the actual cost of educating our students. That means the college relies on the generosity of alumni, family and friends to keep the college strong.

As an institution centered on learning, Denison’s commitments to discerning moral agency, autonomous thinking and respect for human dignity are expressed in our guiding documents, the mission statement and Campus Compact. It is the responsibility of all student organizations, groups and teams to encourage an atmosphere of learning, social responsibility, and respect for human dignity and to provide positive influences and constructive development for members and aspiring members.

Learning a foreign language contributes to our education by providing an intimate exercise in cultural and linguistic concepts that open up new vistas. The Department of Modern Languages offers Arabic language courses for the purpose of general education and in support of other college programs, introducing the diverse and dynamic culture, writings, and traditions of Arab society from Africa to Asia.

"Dr. Lauren Araiza joined the faculty at Denison in the spring of 2007. She teaches survey courses in African-American history and the U.S. since 1865. She also offers seminars on the Civil Rights Movement, the intellectual history of Black Power, the American West, and comparative social movements. Her other teaching interests include labor history, comparative race and ethnicity, and oral history.

Dr. Araiza's first book, To March for Others: The Black Freedom Struggle and the United Farm Workers, was published in the fall of 2013 by the University of Pennsylvania Press. Her book examines the complexities of multiracial coalition building in Amerian social movements by examining the relationships between the major organizations of the black freedom struggle and the UFW, a union of primarily Mexican American farm workers. Dr. Araiza has also published in the Journal of African American History and has contributed an essay to the edited collection, The Struggle in Black and Brown: African American and Mexican American Relations During the Civil Rights Era (University of Nebraska Press, 2011).

Dr. Araiza received her BA from Williams College and her MA and PhD from the University of California, Berkeley."

Christine Armstrong

Licence, University de Franche-Comte; M.A., Miami University; Ph.D., Cornell University

Biography:

When I started my college studies, my professional path was quite clear: I would become a professor of English in France. But life has a way to bring wonderful and unforeseen opportunities leading me to this small liberal arts college where I have enjoyed sharing my love for the French language, literature, and culture.

For each French course I teach my main objectives are to help my students develop their linguistic skills as well as a deeper cultural and literary appreciation for the French-speaking world, which will in turn allow them to become more mindful individuals who will enjoy communicating with people from 32 countries. Every speech act is a cultural act, every literary text is a cultural and ideological artifact which must be examined from various perspectives, critiqued, deconstructed in order to discover its subtleties and sometimes its contradictions. Therefore, I encourage my students to engage in this multi-faceted learning and to reassess their gender-, class- and nation-centered views and expectations.

My latest courses examine French gastronomy as an instrument of religious, political, and colonial power. Issues of national, social, and sexual identity are often at the center of my literature courses.

Since my teaching is vastly informed by my research, you will not be surprised to learn that I have written on food symbolism in literary texts, identity issues of marginalized characters in fictions from the Middle Ages and the 20th Century, and teaching grammar through fairy tales. Fascinated by French novelist and Literature Nobel prize winner André Gide’s works, his fictions remain at the core of my literary analyses. My two current projects entail a translation into English of Gide’s farce Les caves du Vatican, and a manuscript on food as a social marker of ostracization in Gide’s fictional works.

I have served on many university-wide committees. I am especially interested in enhancing student residential and academic life. Particularly involved in extracurricular activities, you will find me chatting at our weekly conversation group (café francophone), cooking with our French students in our Language and Culture House, playing pétanque, and attending the Richmond Film Festival (in Virginia) with some of our students.

The Art History & Visual Culture Program at Denison is designed to identify and develop critical awareness, in accordance with the general aim of a liberal education. This program provides students with the opportunity for instruction and practice in the visual arts as preparation for graduate studies and professional pursuits in this field.

Course and laboratory work in astronomy explores the physical and observational background of such topics as the history of astronomy, naked eye observations, the planets and moons, the origin of the solar system, stellar classification, stellar evolution, galactic astronomy, and cosmology, with an emphasis on the quantitative nature of modern astronomy.

The physical education department provides students with the opportunities to gain knowledge and skills to help future generations improve their physical and mental well-being through programs of athletics, physical education, and recreation.

For all student-athletes at DU, participation in intercollegiate sports is an integral part of their overall educational experience. Athletic teams at Denison are consistently competitive on the conference and national levels. The tradition of excellence associated with Denison athletic programs is due, in part, to the winning heritage which has been established over more than a century of intercollegiate competition.

Greg earned a B.S. in education from Bowling Green State University and holds an M.A. in higher education and student affairs from Ohio State University. He currently serves as the Director of Individual Giving and provides oversight of both the Denison Annual Fund and the Office of Major Gifts. Greg has worked in advancement for over 11 years and joined the Denison community in 2003. He previously managed student calling, young alumni programs, and both reunion and leadership giving.

Rick Bailey

Rick Bailey has served as the head women’s golf coach at Denison since 2010. Bailey and the Big Red are coming off the best season in program history in terms of scoring and tournament finishes in 2012-13. Brynn FitzGerald became Denison's first all-region performer after averaging 80.4 strokes per round as a freshman. As a team, DU finished fourth in the North Coast Athletic Conference for the third consecutive season.

While Denison recently added women's golf as a varsity sport in the fall of 2006, Bailey has been affiliated with Big Red women's golf since 2002 when it was a club sport. From 2002 through 2006 Bailey was the head coach of the Denison women's golf club team. In 2006-07 he moved into the role of assistant coach with the varsity program. Since he began working with the Denison women's golf program he has provided the on-course instruction and has traveled with the team to various tournaments around the state.

Bailey is a Certified PGA Professional and is currently the Assistant Golf Professional at Granville Golf Course. In 2008 he was awarded the Southern Ohio PGA Member Assistant of the Year award and is currently serving on the Southern Ohio PGA education committee. An accomplished amateur golfer, Bailey is an eight-time club champion at Moundbuilders Country Club in Newark, Ohio. He has also participated in the Ohio Amateur, the Ohio Mid-Amateur as well as qualifiers for the United States Golf Association Mid-Amateur.

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Keena Bait

Keena earned a B.S. in Education from Miami University. She currently serves as the Systems Coordinator in Advancement Services. She is the liaison between Institutional Advancement and IT and is responsible for writing alumni and giving reports. She has worked in the field of Information Technology for over 8 years and joined the Denison community in June of 2011.

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David Baker

B.S.E., M.A., Central Missouri State University; Ph.D., University of Utah

Biography:

David Baker is Professor of English and holds the Thomas B. Fordham Chair of Creative Writing. He is the author of ten books of poetry, most recently Never-Ending Birds (2009, W. W. Norton), which won the Theodore Roethke Memorial Poetry Prize. His five prose books are Show Me Your Environment: Essays on Poetry, Poets, and Poems (forthcoming 2014), Talk Poetry: Poems and Interviews with Nine American Poets (2012), Radiant Lyre: Essays on Lyric Poetry (2007, with Ann Townsend), Heresy and the Ideal: On Contemporary Poetry (2000) and Meter in English: A Critical Engagement (1996). Dr. Baker's poems and essays have appeared widely in such magazines as American Poetry Review, The Atlantic Monthly, The Nation, The New Republic, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Poetry, Slate, The Yale Review, and more than a hundred others. For his work he has received fellowships and awards from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Poetry Society of America, the Ohio Arts Council, and the Society of Midland Authors.

At Denison Dr. Baker teaches classes in creative writing, poetry writing, American and modern literature, poetic theory, and others. He has taught previously at Kenyon College, the University of Michigan, and The Ohio State University, and occasionally serves on the faculty of the MFA program for writers at Warren Wilson College. Dr. Baker also is Poetry Editor of The Kenyon Review. In 2012, 2006 and 2001 he served on the faculty of the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference.

Sarah Baker ’08

B.A., Denison University; M.A., University of Bristol; M.L.I.S., Kent State University

Biography:

Sarah graduated from Denison University in 2008 with a B.A. in Art History. She earned her M.A. in History of Art from the University of Bristol in 2010 and her M.L.I.S. from Kent State University in 2001